Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Meant for Me (Blurred Lines #4) by Erin McCarthy

Since Ethan Walsh realized his fiancé was in love with another guy, his life has been spiraling out of control. He’s spent the last eighteen months drinking too much, hooking up with random girls, and flunking out of law school. When his sister Aubrey has a baby, he goes to visit her on the remote island off the coast of Maine, expecting it to be awkward.

What he isn’t expecting is Aubrey’s neighbor to be a beautiful and aloof blonde, Chloe, whose piano playing lulls him to sleep every night. He wants to talk to her, get to know her, kiss her.

But Chloe doesn’t speak, and no one knows why. So Ethan makes it his mission to learn the truth and instead falls in love with her smile, her music, her notes and texts to him. Helping Chloe feel safe enough to open up is actually healing him, but what happens when the darkness of reality threatens to destroy their new life?
Type: New Adult
Heat: 3ish out of 5
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Well Meant for Me was...pretty dang unique! And that's not something you can say all that often in romance anymore but was definitely the case this time as Ethan and Chloe forge a relationship in their own way.
Alright so the quick of it is that Ethan is in a bad place and has hit rock bottom--drinking, random hook ups, dropping out of school-- and a trip to visit his baby sister shocks him into some truths about his current life and how he's living. And brings him face to face with a women named Chloe who is going through her own struggles with an anxiety disorder that prevents her from speaking. And the two...spark something in each other.
So these two. They're both a spot broken and need to work through things but they're good people under it all and were very nice together. And in the end they were pretty dang likable.

I really wasn't sure about Ethan at the start. He really is at rock bottom and there were some things that really put me off--I just don't need to hear about the state of his sticky balls brought on by an unknown hookup. I really don't. I mean EEEEWWWW to like the nth effing power. But at the same time it really showed how much he'd fallen and far he'd eventually come. He can be a little frustrating and jerky but also very sweet and kind and thoughtful which totally won out for me. And Chloe was an interesting one. She's not spoken since she was 7 years old other than to her father and sister so it's easy for people to overlook her, treat her like she's below them, etc. But she's smart and stronger than people give her credit for. She was bold and shy, intriguing and frustrating all in turn. They really were a fascinating pair.

A sound of pure exasperation came out of her mouth and she made two fists. Then she picked up a pillow and hit me with it.

"Baby, calm down."

Because that is literally the two stupidest words you can ever say to a woman. Again, I blamed the grogginess.

Their romance was unique and a little slower since she wasn't able to physically speak. So their interactions were different. Having to pay more attention to body language. Texting and emailing. I liked it. I wasn't sure how it would play out but it was nicely done and brought an interesting dynamic. It also meant that things were told mostly from Ethan's narration which I really loved and helped make him a lot more likable. He's just a good guy under all of the playboy layers he's build around himself. There were some funny moments, some frustrating and some so dang sweet as they got to know each other and things eventually heated up between them.

I did have a couple little niggles to do with something that Ethan helped her work through and supported her with with. I really liked the storyline but then Chloe had a bit of a fit and never really apologizes for her behavior. Ethan apologizes (though I didn't think he needed to) but she didn't and that griped me. There were also some things that felt like consistency issues with past dates but maybe not. Just felt it to me. Little complaints though.

Overall, Meant for Me was an curious and fascinating romance. It was interesting to see these two come together and having to work through different limitations than the average couple. Figuring out their own ways to bond and form connections when the spoken word just wasn't possible. McCarthy did a wonderful job of building a unique and captivating romance.

Have you read McCarthy? Have a favorite?
Ever read a book where one of the characters was mute?

FTC Disclaimer: The books I review come from a number of places...ones I have purchased, some provided by authors or publishers in exchange for honest reviews (yeah some of those get DNF'd and 1 stars too) and some I've received from friends. I'll always give yall exactly what I think regardless of how the books ended up on my shelf.

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